Yakutsk is now a city of 270,000 people. It is located 450 kms south of the Arctic circle at 62 degrees north. I was last in Yakutsk in August of 2001. It was still summer and quite hot back then in the mid 30s. Yakutsk was a much quieter and simpler city back then. It had a population of 210,000 and industry was still slow.
Now, the diamond, gold and oil industries are developing rapidly in Yakutia. Yakutsk the capital is growing rapidly also, as a result. There are many new buildings and many more cars on the road. Back in 2001, there was one wooden hall for a cinema. The shops were very simple. There were a handful of microwaves, kettles and tvs for sale. Now Yakutsk has big shopping centres, cinemas, and everything you could think of buying. There are plenty of jobs there, which means a lot of the young people choose to stay, or some of them will even go back to work there after studying at university in the south.
Yakutsk State University
The new stadium from across the water.
The old theatre, downtown.
The newly renovated "TSUM". "Central Universal Store", now a large modern shopping centre.
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